


On Any Given Night

by PlanetClare



Category: Black Widow (Comics), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel (Comics), Marvel (Movies), Winter Soldier (Comics), winterwidow - Fandom
Genre: Anxiety, Brooklyn, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Has Cats, Bucky Barnes Has Issues, Bucky Barnes Has Nightmares, Bucky Barnes Has PTSD, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Cybernetics, Drama, Empathy, F/M, Friendship, Insomnia, Love, Man Out of Time, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sadness, Sleeplessness, Sorrow, Spies & Secret Agents, Stress, Trauma, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, friends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-25
Updated: 2016-05-25
Packaged: 2018-06-10 16:31:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6964483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlanetClare/pseuds/PlanetClare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>These vignettes consider what could happen to Bucky Barnes on any given night as compared to an evening that some of the Avengers might have.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On Any Given Night

**Bucky**  

Before Natasha awoke and realized what was happening, Bucky was in REM sleep and having another nightmare. He jerked and moaned as his blue eyes darted wildly behind their closed lids.

When she finally arose, she found her companion sweating profusely and breathing rapidly.

“James!” she called turning to face him afraid to touch and startle him.

Hearing her voice was enough to partially rouse him, though he continued to struggle with the captivating dream.

“Wake up, James!” Natasha called to him.

 

 **Steve**  

“You know, you really didn’t have to watch this movie with me, but I appreciate it,” Sharon said leaning her head on Steve’s right shoulder.

“Are you kidding? I love ‘50 First Dates.’ It’s one of my favorites,” he replied with a wry smirk.

“No, it’s not,” she said with a laugh.

“No. It’s not,” he agreed with a guilty smile. He threw his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in tight.

Actually, Steve did not have the heart to tell her that the romantic comedy made him sad because it reminded him of how his best friend Bucky must have felt each time he was removed from cryostasis and his mind was wiped.

 

**Tony**

Pepper sat at the head of the table wearing her glasses, a white t-shirt and jeans looking relaxed with her hair down as she glanced at figures on a note pad.

Seated to her right was a very annoyed looking Tony who kept rolling his eyes and cocking his head first to one side and then to the other. He was wearing jeans as well and a black t-shirt.

“Really, Pepper, do we need to go over work-related issues at this hour? I’d prefer to be in my work room right now.”

“Tony, I know it’s late, but this is the only time I’ve been able to get you alone today,” she replied.

“Well, technically, it’s not ‘today’ anymore – it’s ‘tomorrow,’” he observed.

“Which would make it ‘today,’” she advised with a smile.

He sighed and said, “Let’s just get on with it. We’re burning moonlight here.”

“Yes, we are, Tony,” she agreed as she began advising him of the latest business dealings of Stark Industries. She tenderly rubbed her bare right foot against his left ankle.

Tony did not let on how much he enjoyed her show of affection.

 

**Bucky**

Natasha finally felt brave enough to touch Bucky, so she laid her left hand on his right shoulder.

In the blink of an eye, Bucky straddled her and squeezed her throat with his cloaked left hand. His piercing eyes bore holes into hers.

With both hands grasping his left one, Natasha struggled to free herself. Unable to talk, she drew her right arm back and then slapped him hard across the face.

Startled, Bucky blinked a few times and then released his grip on her. He rolled off of her and sat next to her in bed as she gasped for air.

Bucky stared at the wall on the other side of the room as he tried to sort out the last fleeting images from his dream.

“Another nightmare?” Natasha breathlessly asked already knowing the answer.

Ignoring her question and avoiding eye contact, he replied, “I’m sorry.”

“I know,” she said rising from bed and putting on her green silk robe over the matching nightgown. She walked to the bathroom to get cold cloths for him.

While Natasha was out of the room, Bucky swung his legs over the side of the bed and placed his feet on the carpet. As he rested his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands, he could feel the dampness of his Barnes tartan pajama bottoms and realized that he was covered in sweat.

 

**Sam**

Returning from dinner and a late movie, Sam stopped his car in front of his date’s apartment.

“Well, thanks for the movie, Sam. I had a lovely evening,” said Deb from the local bookstore.

“It was my pleasure. Not bad for a first date. Am I right?” he asked jokingly.

Laughing, Deb replied, “All right, Sam. Don’t press your luck.”

“I’m going to press it anyway by walking you to your door,” he said becoming more serious.

“That would be nice,” she replied cautiously.

Sam stepped out of the driver’s side door, walked around the back of his BMW, and opened Deb’s door for her.

“Thank you, Sam,” she said as he took her hand and helped her exit the car.

He smiled but said nothing.

Looking up at the cloudless sky, she remarked, “Oh, look! There’s Orion. The sky is so clear tonight that all the stars look close enough to touch!”

Sam heard little of what she was saying as he was captivated by her big brown eyes. He watched them scanning the night sky and then admired her long hair which fell in tight ringlets onto her shoulders.

‘This is only our first date, but I think I want to marry this girl,’ he thought.

“It’s all so beautiful – don’t you think?” she asked suddenly.

Not knowing what she had just been talking about, Sam answered honestly.

“Yes, ma’am. Yes it is.”

Deb smiled thinking she had not lost him with her knowledge of astronomy. She did not realize that when he agreed with her, he was not talking about the stars but about her.

 

**Bucky**

Natasha quickly returned from the bathroom with two moist, cold face cloths. Sitting on the bed next to him, she placed one on the back of Bucky’s neck and pressed the other to his forehead.

“Let me call Steve,” she offered.

“No. Besides, he’s over at Sharon’s,” Bucky replied sternly.

“Then how about Sam? He counsels war veterans all the time,” she advised.

“No!” he snapped.

“Well, you should talk to _someone_ about it,” she pleaded.

“Nat, I’ve been having nightmares for years. What good is talking about it going to do?” he replied becoming annoyed.

She sighed and decided it was not in his best interest to fight.

“We should get you cleaned up,’ she remarked looking at his sweaty bare torso and his wet pajama bottoms.

He pushed her right hand away from his forehead and stood up.

She knew what that meant and let out a deeper sigh. When he felt well enough to drive, he would leave and go to his apartment.

Bucky removed his damp pajama bottoms and walked naked to the bathroom to place them in the clothes hamper. Approaching the chest of drawers, he pulled out a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt and put them on.

All the while, Natasha watched disappointedly from the bed.

 

**Clint**

Looking around at the other patrons, Clint sat with his back leaning against the bar while perched atop a black leather stool. He had his eye on a tall brunette who was with friends across the room.

The blonde archer caught her eye and raised his shot glass as in a toast.

As the woman’s friends chatted, she stole glances at Clint. She knew she had seen him on television and was certain that he was one of the Avengers.

Clint glanced at the empty bar stool next to him and then returned his gaze to the brunette.

She took his cue and told her friends, “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Wait…What?” one of the friends asked in vain.

The brunette walked over to the archer in the purple shirt and black leather jacket.

“How are you this evening?” he asked making idle conversation.

“Doing well, thanks. May I ask you…are you ‘Hawkeye’ the Avenger?” she queried timidly.

Clint thought for a moment. He wanted to tell her the truth but worried about what her reaction would be.

Finally, he answered, “Yeah, that would be me.”

“Wow…thanks for saving New York,” she chirped referring to the invasion of the Chitauri.

“You’re welcome. It’s my job,” he replied.

“And what a fascinating job it is.”

“My name is Clint, by the way,” the archer offered. “What’s yours?”

“I’m Daphne.”

“Daphne? That’s a lovely name. So, Daphne, would you like to hear more about my fascinating job? I know an Italian place around the corner where we can talk,” suggested Clint.

“That sounds great! Lead the way,” she said standing.

Slapping a $10 bill on the bar, Clint flagged the bartender and said, “Keep the change!”

He and Daphne stepped out into the cool, early morning air and walked down the street toward Luigi’s.

 

**Bucky**

“I don’t understand why you have to leave,” Natasha confessed.

“You know I don’t like to be around you when I’m like this. It’s not safe for you,” Bucky reminded her.

She thought for a moment realizing that during dinner, he seemed a bit distant and preoccupied often asking, ‘Huh?’ when she spoke. She blamed herself for not seeing it then.

“I’m sure that Sam or Steve –” she began.

“No!” he insisted as he pulled on his leather jacket and left the room. Upon entering the living room, he caught the attention of his therapy cat, Sébastien.

The black feline leapt from his perch on the cat tree and raced to Bucky who was now making his way to the kitchen.

From a low cabinet, the assassin removed Sébastien’s pet carrier, placed it on the floor, and opened its wire door.

The cat knew this meant that he and Bucky would be taking a ride, so he purred his approval and made himself comfortable inside.

Natasha continued to search for words that could possibly change his mind.

“James…” she pled.

He placed his right hand on the knob of the front door.

“I’ll be in touch,” he said as he opened the door and quietly closed it behind him.

Natasha stared at the door in front of her for a few moments and then went to change the bedding.

 

**Steve**

When the movie ended, Sharon rose and got a blanket which she draped over Steve. She was not annoyed that he had fallen asleep halfway through the film. She knew that as a former military man, he was still used to going to bed early and rising at dawn, and she was sure it was the same for Bucky.

Sharon entered her bedroom and left the door slightly ajar in case Steve awoke and wished to join her.

 

**Bucky**

Upon arriving at his apartment several blocks from Natasha’s, Bucky unstrapped Sébastien’s carrier from the back seat of his motorcycle and walked to his front door. The cool air had refreshed him somewhat, but he still felt slightly agitated and on edge.

‘What _was_   it about that dream? Why can’t I remember it?’ he wondered as he sat on his bed cradling Sébastien in the tiny, dark apartment.

Bucky stretched out and lay on his back placing Sébastien on his chest.

The feline tenderly licked his face as if sensing that his human friend needed to be comforted.

“Thanks, pal,” the assassin said scratching the cat’s head.

Bucky felt bad about leaving Natasha so abruptly, but he hated to put her in harm’s way when he was feeling out of sorts or having a traumatic episode.

‘What if she’s right?’ he wondered. ‘Maybe I _should_   talk to Sam. He counsels soldiers with posttraumatic stress disorder, but how could I make him understand the horrors that haunt me? How could anyone truly fathom that? There’s nothing he could say that would change any of it. I’m probably better off on my own.’

With the gentle purring of his therapy cat resting on his chest, Bucky lay awake staring at the ceiling. A feeling of dread crept over him like an undercurrent pulling him down.

‘I’m losing my mind,’ he thought on the verge of exhaustion.

As the hours passed, he listened as the sounds of the city gradually became louder. Just as the sun began to rise, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> © 2016 Planet Press
> 
> The Marvel characters herein are the property of Marvel Comics which retains the rights. The character of Sébastien the Cat was created by this author.


End file.
